Adapter for gear casings of film winders



March 17, 1959 s. HYMAN 2,877,957

ADAPTER FOR GEAR CASINGS OF FILM WINDERS Filed Dec. 31. 1954 INVENTOR PH/70,52, HyMA/V United States Patent ADAPTER FOR GEAR CASINGS OF FILM WINDERS Samuel Hyman, New York, N. Y., assignor to The Camera Mart, Inc., New York, N. Y.

Application December 31, 1954, Serial No. 479,055 8 Claims. (Cl. 24255) This invention relates to adapters or attachment provided with guide roll means for fixation on gear casings of film strip winding systems.

Heretofore known gear casings were equipped with an axle or shaft on which a winding reel for a film strip is secured, said reel cooperating with a guide roll pivoted on a holder, which, in turn, is afiixed to the casing in predetermined position to thereby ensure the winding or reeling of the film strip.

These holders for film strip guide rolls, however, were constructed to only suit the respective shape and size of a gear casing, thus requiring that a large stock thereof must be kept to fit various existing structures of gear casings.

The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages inherent in known holders or supports for film strip guide rolls and has as one of its prime objects to provide means afi'ording ready adaptation and adjustment of the guide roll carrying support to any gear casing structure, whereby the guide roll will always be located in a most favorable position in regard to the film winding reel axis.

It is another object of the present invention to provide means facilitating a most effective position of the guide roll relative to the film winding reel to thereby ensure rapid and accurate film winding, the support for the guide roll being detachably retained on the gear casing of any known make and construction.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of means contributing to a light-weight adapter structure supporting a film guide roll and which may be readily applied to and fixed on differently shaped gear casings of film winders.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide means ensuring adjustment and fixation of guide roll supporting means for film winders on the gear casing thereof in radial direction of the casing and/ or in a direction substantially parallel to the axes of the gear casing.

The above and other objects of the invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, showing a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is an elevational view of the adapter device made in accordance with the invention as applied to a film reel winding system;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. I;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, there is disclosed a pedestal provided with a clamping device 11 carrying a screw-threaded bolt 12 to attach pedestal 10 with gear casing 14 to a table or like support 13.

The gear casing 14 is substantially of round shape and has an extension portion 15 from which projects shaft 16 to which the film reel 17 is keyed for winding up the film strip 18. Casing 14 encloses, as is well known, a gearing assembly to impart to shaft 16 a rotational move 2,877,957 Patented Mar. 17, 1959 ice ment of predetermined ratio. The gearing assembly is actuated by means of a crank 19 seated on shaft 16a and having a manipulating handle 20 and counter weight 21 (partly illustrated).

Astride extension 15 there is mounted an adapter device 22, which according to the invention has a base or yoke support 23 for the engagement with the outer surface of casing extension 15. Lugs 24, 25 depend from yoke 23, from which extends fixed arm 26 with pivot 27, about which is swingable arm 28, which carries in journal 29 a shaft 31.

On shaft 31 is journalled guide roll 30 adapted to overlie the film reel 17, whereby the length of arm 28 is so chosen that axle or shaft 31 is positioned forwardly of axle 16, as may be clearly seen from Fig. 1.

Yoke shaped support 23 is somewhat enlarged to provide a platform at 32 and has two openings 33, 34 through which may extend the ends of a U-shaped bail member 35. These ends are screw-threaded at 36 and are adapted for engagement with rounded knurled nuts 37. The transverse bight 38 of member 35 is adapted to engage casing 14 at 39, whereby the legs 40 of member 35 are suitably bent to pass below shaft 16a in the direction of yoke 23,. as is clearly apparent from Fig. 1. Thus, it will be seen that yoke 23 after having been placed astn'de casing extension portion 15 will be held on casing 14 in fixed and preadjusted position. If the casing 14 is of different shape or width, then in such event the depending lugs 24, 25 may be employed to laterally afiix adapter 22 in position by means of screw 41 passing through suitable openings 42, 43 into the gear casing 14.

As can be seen from Fig. 3, spacer sleeves 44 may be employed to adequately attach lugs 24, 25 against casing 14.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, guide roll 30 is stepped in profile, so that the same may be used for guiding a plurality of widths of film strips, such as for instance 35 mm. film strips as well as 16 mm. film strips.

In practice it has been found that the guide roll and adapter arrangement as hereinabove described may be readily used to guide film strips of at least 4000 feet during winding operation. The disposition of the axis of guide roll 30 in regard to the axis of the winding reel 17 is such that the guide roll due to weight and its relationship to reel 17 positively guides the film strip during winding operation in aligned layer formation and in lateral direction thereof.

It is, of course, understood that instead of winding films the aforesaid hand-operated winding system may be power driven and that instead of film strips recording tapes and similar strip material may be employed, whereby the strip material is wound in the direction of arrow A, while guide roll 30 has the tendency to exert pressure in the direction of arrow B, thereby receding to an uppermost position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, at which the winding of the film or like strip is completed.

It can thus be seen that there has been provided in accordance with this invention an adapter device for attachment to a gear casing of a gear-driven film winder to which a guide roll is applied for laterally guiding said film strip during Winding operation; comprising a yokeshaped support, said casing having an arcuate top surface and an arcuate underface, said support being larger in width than said gear casing and shaped for location on the top surface of said gear casing, U-shaped means abutting against said underface of said gear casing and extending therefrom exteriorly and laterally of said casing to said support for fixation thereat, whereby said yoke-shaped support is retained on said casing in predetermined adjusted position, and means pivotally journalled on said support and swingably carrying said film guide roll forj wardly of and above the axis of said film winder in said adjusted position, to thereby ensure winding of said film strip in laterally aligned layer formation.

The bail-shaped member 35 is preferably made from a ductile metal. and formed-into a wire provided with acoppercoating. The metal is sufficiently stretchable, so that thewire may conform to the contour of the casing, for instance, from the full line position to the dotted line position of Fig. 1 upon tightening nuts 37 on screw threaded ends 36. The legs 40 of the wirethus extend in substantially radial direction in regard to the center axis of shaft 16a.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An adapter device for attachment to a substantially circular-shaped gear casing of gear-driven film winders in which a film guide roll is applied to the film strip during winding operation; comprising a yoke-shaped support for location on the top surface of said gear casing, a platform provided on said support, U-shaped means adapted to abut against the underface of said gear casing and extending therefrom exteriorly and laterally of said casing to said platform for fixation thereat, whereby said yoke-shaped support is retained on said top surface of said casing in predetermined adjusted position, means extending from said support and swingably carrying said film guide roll relative to and above the axis of said film Winder in said adjusted position, to thereby facilitate Winding of said film strip in aligned layer formation, and means for location adjacent said platform and adapted to engage the ends of said U- shaped means thereby to retain said yoke-shaped support on said casing.

2. An adapter device for attachment to a rounded top 1 surface of a gear casing for gear-driven film winders wherein a film guide roll is applied to the film strip during winding operation; comprising a yoke-shaped support for said guide roll and seated astride said top surface of said gear casing, said support including an enlarged top portion, U-shaped means having a bight abutting against the uuderface of said gear casing and having lateral legs extending exteriorly of said casing and with their ends through openings provided in said enlarged top portion for fixation thereat, means threadedly engaging the ends of said legs whereby said yoke-shaped support is retained on said casing in adjusted position, and means pivotally journalled on said support and swingably carrying said film guide roll in said adjusted position above and ahead of the axis of said film winder, to thereby ensure winding of said film strip in aligned layer formation.

3. An adapter device for attachment to a gear casing of a gear-driven film winder to which a film guide roll is applied for laterally guiding said film strip during Winding operation, said casing having an arcuate top surface and an arcuate underface; comprising a yokeshaped support, said support being provided with a platform larger in-width than that of said gear casing measured in axial direction of same and shaped for location on the top surface of said gear casing, U-shaped means adapted to abut against said underface of said gear casing and to extend exteriorly and laterally of said casing and with the ends of the legs of said U-shaped means through openings in said support platform for fixation thereat, whereby said yoke-shaped support may be retained on said casing in predetermined adjusted position, means engageable with said leg ends to retain said support in said position, and means pivotally journalled on said support and swingably carrying said film guide roll, the latter being positionable forwardly of and above the axis of said film Winder when said support is in said adjusted position, to thereby ensure winding of said film strip in laterally aligned layer formation.

4. An adapter device according to claim 3, wherein said yoke=shapedsupport isnprovided with depending lugs to facilitate lateral securement of said support to the surface of said gear casing.

5. In a film guide means for use with a film winding device having a curved gear casing and a crank mounted on an axle of said casing to thereby impart rotary motion to a winding reel supported by said casing and said axle; yoke means having a curved lower surface and positionable on-said gear casing with said lower surface in substantial engagement with a curved portion of the latter, bail means engageable with both said yoke means and said casing and extending below said axle to retain the yoke means rigidly on the casing, support means connected to and extending away from said yoke means, a supporting arm having one end pivotally connected to a portion of said support means remote from said yoke means, and a guide roller for film on said winding reel, said roller being journalled on another end of said arm for rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said arm, said arm in at least one position thereof extending from said support means in the direction of said yoke means substantially perpendicularly to said axle. and being of such a length that said axis of rotation of said guide roller is located on that side of said axle which is remotefrom the side of the latter on which the pivotal connection between said arm and said support means is located, when the latter is con nected to said gear casing.

6. In film guide means for use with a film winding device including a curved gear casing having opposite faces and an axle passing through said casing and having a crank to impart rotary motion to a winding reel carried by said axle; yoke means having a curved lower surface and positionable on said gear casing with said lower surface in substantial engagement with a curved portion of the latter, retaining means coacting with said yoke means and adapted to extend below said axle and laterally of said gear casing to fix said yoke means against displacement both parallel and perpendicular to said faces, a first arm connected to and extending from said yoke means, a second arm having one end pivotally connected to a portion of said first arm remote from said yoke means, and a guide roller for guiding film on said winding reel, said roller being journalled on another end of said second arm for rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said second arm, whereby said guide roller may engage said film from above said winding reel when said second arm extends from said portion of said first arm in the direction of said yoke means.

'7. In a device for attachment to a gear casing of a gear-driven film winder to which a film guide roll having internally stepped flanges is applied for laterally guiding a film strip during winding operation, said casing having an arcuate top surface and an arcuate underface', a yokeshaped support, said support being larger in width than the width of said gear casing measured in axial direction of same and shaped for location on said top surface of said gear casing, means engageable with said gear casing exteriorly and laterally of said casing and adapted to fix said support onto said casing, whereby said yoke-shaped support may be retained on said casing in predetermined adjusted position, and means pivotally journalled on said support and swingably carrying said film guide roll, whereby the latter may be located above the axis of said film winder when said support is in said adjusted position, to thereby ensure winding of said film strip in laterally aligned layer formation.

8. In a device attached to a gear casing of a gear-driven filmwinder to which a film guide roll is applied for laterally guiding a film strip during winding operation, said casing having an arcuate top surface and an arcuate underface; a yoke-shaped support, said support being formed with a curved lower surface positioned on said gear casing in substantial engagement with a curved pprtionof the latter, said yoke being formedwith lugs depending therefrom; said yoke having openings therein; spacer sleeves between said lugs and said casing for attaching the former to the latter; a fixed arm extending from said lugs; a swingable arm having one of its ends pivoted on said fixed arm and another end formed with journals therein; shaft means in said journals; a stepped film guide roll journaled on said shaft for guiding film strips of various widths, said guide roll being positioned forwardly of and above the axis of the film winder; a U-shaped bail member made of ductile metal and formed with screw-threaded ends extending through said openings of said yoke, and means engaging said screwthreaded ends of said bail member, whereby said bail member is fixed on said casing in preadjusted position thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS De Voe Mar. 23, 1920 Ditson July 12, 1921 Brown May 20, 1924 Whalen Sept. 14, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Australia Apr. 10, 1922 France Sept. 5, 1924 Germany Apr. 2, 1930 

